The morning after her resignation Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman who is locked in a tough primary battle to retain her seat, spoke at a breakfast hosted by the Florida delegation to the convention and was booed. On Sunday, Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation as chairwoman of the committee. “She has shown time and time again her resilience and she is not scared to stand up to the right and defend our platform and defend our values”, said Ana Cruz, a delegate from Tampa.
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“We have to make sure that we move forward together in a unified way”, Wasserman Schultz said during brief remarks.
One of the Wikileaks emails revealed that Wasserman-Schultz, who as DNC Chair should be impartial, said that Bernie Sanders would not be president.
The embarrassment caused by leaked emails not only cost Wasserman Schultz her position as head of the DNC, it’s also providing fodder for her primary-election opponent.
” It didn’t last very long because she was immediately picked up as honorary chair for Hillary’s campaign, which we thought was a pretty blatant slap in the face”, Henson says.
For Sanders supporters, this latest email scandal leaves them asking “what if”.
He sidestepped questions about the role of Ms Wasserman Schultz at the convention, saying that it was “her decision” to step down. “Our focus is on electing Hillary Clinton, Tim
Kaine and Democrats across the country, thanks to the Democratic Party that is strong, unified, and poised for victory in November”.
“I think with a lot more Bernie people here at the stadium, at Wells Fargo that’s going to be a lot more distraction”, he said.
Sanders’ speech was not only important for his supporters, but for Hillary Clinton, as well.
“I think under the circumstances, I think it would give those who opposed her fodder for disrupting this convention”. In fact, she should have done so immediately and not let her presence as chairwoman overshadow the convention and do further damage to Clinton.
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“To tell us to do that”, said Ryan Lopez, a California delegate, of Sanders’ request, “it goes against everything that we’re fighting for”.
